U.S. imposes sanctions on Hezbollah leadership

17 May 2018

The Shura Council is Hizbollah's supreme decision-making body responsible for religious, military, and strategic matters and asserts control over administrative, planning, and policy-making authorities.

The action was undertaken jointly with members of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC): Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman.

The US Department of the Treasury announced on Wednesday that it designated the leader of the Shia Muslim group Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for new sanctions as well as other individuals.

Specifically, OFAC, together with Gulf partners, designated Hasan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah.

The latest USA sanctions came one day after the Treasury Department slapped sanctions on governor of Iran's Central Bank Valiollah Seif, alleging it had funneled funds to Hezbollah.

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The White House did not respond to questions on the move, first reported by Politico , which quoted from the internal memo. As some lawmakers noted this week, having more staff dedicated to cybersecurity in the current climate would be prudent.

The Gulf states targeted four of the movement's committees and ordered individuals' assets and bank accounts frozen. Since President Donald Trump announced the policy-shift on Iran, the US has sanctioned the nation's central bank governor and an Iran-linked currency exchange network.

Washington's claims against Hezbollah come while the movement has been playing a significant role in the Syrian army's fight against Takfiri terror groups, including Daesh and al-Nusra Front, thus preventing the spillover of the militancy gripping neighboring Syria into Lebanon.

Khalil, Nasrallah's political advisor, was one of several senior "Hezbollah" commanders who shared responsibility for the group's special operations in Europe.

Previously, Sheikh Naim Qassem said that Hezbollah would shield Lebanon from any schemes to "subordinate Lebanon [to foreigners]", adding that the United States and Israel "spare no efforts to attack Lebanon and impose sanctions" on the Shia organization.